The Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) Records (1968-2002) comprises a wide variety of material documenting the activities of this environmental organization. Areas of concentration include administrative records, legal cases, outreach efforts and environmental issues, such as acid rain, energy, transportation, hazardous waste and water. Additionally, legal records documenting court cases involving the companies United States Steel, Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) and Shenango, Inc. are included as well as litigation materials of air pollution cases, state implementation plans and other environmental legal cases.

Preferred Citation

Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) Records, 1968-2002, AIS.1979.21, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

History

The Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) was founded as a non-profit citizens' group in 1969 by a group of 43 volunteers in southwestern Pennsylvania working for a "healthy, sustainable environment." Over the years, the group has worked to improve environmental standards in the region through educational programs and a quarterly newsletter,
Hotline. In the 1970s, GASP entered into litigation in Federal District Court to require Allegheny County to adopt standards based on the Clean Air Act of 1970. In the 1980s, GASP cooperated with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in bringing about enforcement of air quality standards at the US Steel Coke production facilities at its Clairton Works.

The mission statement of the organization is as follows: "GASP will act to obtain for the residents of Western Pennsylvania clean air, water, and land in order to create the healthy, sustainable environment and quality of life to which we are all entitled." As of 2011, the organization is still active and continues to work to educate the public on questions of pollution and its remediation. GASP's website can be found through this link:
http://gasp-pgh.org/.

Arrangement

Additional scope notes are found at the series and subseries level. The collection is divided into six series. Series III. Legal has been arranged into six subseries. Series I through Series V are arranged chronologically, while Series VI is arranged alphabetically.

Revision Description

Eden Orelove updated the finding aid to reflect reprocessing of collection due to high quantity of new material added in 2011. August 2011

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Copyright

The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.

Accruals

A substantial amount of more material (10 linear feet) was donated to ASC by Gladys Maharam on March 31, 2009. In April 2011, James Longhurst, Assistant Professor of History, University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, returned materials that a former GASP president had loaned to him in order complete his personal research.

Acquisition Information

GASP donated three boxes of material to the ASC on July 31, 1979.

Processing Information

The original collection of three boxes was processed by Christina Reed in October 2004. To integrate newly accessioned materials, Eden Orelove reprocessed the entire collection and created a new arrangement during the summer of 2011. Series I through Series V was processed by Eden Orelove. Materials in the original collection were moved to Series VI processed by Christina Reed.

Revision for the encoded version series VI of the finding aid was provided by Andy Newman in October 2004 and by Charles Stanford in December 2005. Information about the collection title and the controlled access terms was extracted from the MARC record in the University of Pittsburgh catalog Voyager ID number: 1363680.

Collection Inventory

Series I. Administrative, 1969-1994

Scope and Content Notes

This series dates between 1969 and 1994 and contains the administrative records of GASP. The documents found in the Administrative series include public relations and financial records, correspondence, by-laws, meeting minutes, awards, staff biographies, pamphlets and statements of the group. The material is arranged chronologically.

Series II. Board of Directors, 1969-1999

Scope and Content Notes

The Board of Directors series includes three categories: Records, Correspondence, and Annual Meeting Records. Within each of these three categories the folders are arranged chronologically. The dates of the series range from 1969 to 1999. This series includes documents produced and received by and the Board of Directors of GASP including meeting minutes and correspondence.

Series III. Legal, 1969-2002

Scope and Content Notes

The Legal series (1969-2002) is divided into six subseries: United States Steel; State Implementation Plans; Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV); Shenango, Inc.; Air Pollution; and Other. This series includes court documents, correspondence, testimonies, media coverage and reports about the legal cases involving GASP. Within each subseries the folders are arranged chronologically. Further scope notes are available at the subseries level.

Subseries 1. United States Steel, 1969-1995

Scope and Content Notes

The United States Steel subseries includes information on several litigations that involved the United States Steel Company (also known as U.S. Steel, U.S.S. and U.S.X.) and GASP. These include the Clairton Coke Works dispute and the Mon Valley Consent Decree Case. The materials in this subseries range from 1969 to 1995 and are arranged chronologically.

Box

Folder

Clairton Coke Works Correspondence and Court Documents, 1969-1970

4

1

Folder

Steel Workers Records, 1969-1981

2

Folder

Correspondence and Newspaper Clippings about United States Steel, 1971-1983

Subseries 2. State Implementation Plans, 1979-1995

Scope and Content Notes

The State Implementation Plans subseries includes materials from the PM10 and the Environmental Protection Agency state implementation plans. Several folders contain records of how the plans affect Allegheny County in particular. The materials (1979-1995) include meeting records, correspondence, testimonies, reports, media coverage and settlement agreements. It is arranged chronologically.

Liberty Borough/Clairton Area PM10 Area Reports and Correspondence, 1995

15

Folder

PM10 Settlement Agreements, 1996

16

Subseries 3. Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV), 1993-2002

Scope and Content Notes

The Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) subseries includes records of the lawsuit of LTV vs. the United States Environmental Protection Agency and GASP. The pollution of LTV's Coke Mills is the topic of the legal documents. Correspondence, media coverage, permit applications, lawsuit documents, position statements and interrogatories from the public comprise this subseries. The records (1993-2002) are arranged chronologically.

Folder

Correspondence about LTV Steel and Proposed Coke Plant, 1993-2002

17

Folder

Media Coverage and Related Correspondence, 1994-1998

18

Folder

Air Quality Program Permit Application, 1998

19

Folder

Lawsuit Documents, 1998-1999

20

Folder

Position Statements about the LTV Site, 1998-1999

21

Folder

Correspondence and Resume of Attorney Robert Yuhnke, 1998-2000

22

Folder

Interrogatories, 1998-2000

23

Folder

Court Documents and Correspondence, 1998-2001

24

Folder

Motions to Intervene, 1999

25

Folder

Court and Attorney Records, 2000-2001

26

Folder

Correspondence and Court Documents, 2002

27

Subseries 4. Shenango, Inc., 1980-2001

Scope and Content Notes

The Shenango, Inc. subseries includes materials from the legal case relating to the air pollution violations of Shenango, Inc.'s coke-making facilities. Materials include correspondence, court documents, newspaper clippings, advertisements and meeting records. The subseries (1980-2001) is arranged chronologically.

Public Comments in Opposition to Proposed Installation Permit for the Coke Making Facilities 1998-1999

29

Folder

Exhibited Court Documents, 1998-2000

30

Folder

Correspondence, 1998-2001

31

Folder

Environmental Protection Agency for Civil Contempt, September 1999

32

Folder

Public Hearing Advertisements and Comments, 1999

33

Folder

Meeting Documents, 1999

34

Folder

Background Information about Antaeus Energy-Shenango, Inc. 1999

35

Folder

Correspondence Disputing GASP's Position, 1999

36

Folder

Notice of Intent Document, July 22, 1999

37

Folder

Press Clippings about Shenango, Inc. Violations, 1999-2001

38

Folder

Court Documents, 2000

39

Subseries 5. Air Pollution, 1970-1996

Scope and Content Notes

The Air Pollution subseries includes materials related to various bills and court cases involving air pollution violations and regulations. A large portion of this subseries includes materials documenting the Clean Air Act as well as the health effects of polluted air. The materials (1970-1996) are arranged chronologically.

Box

Folder

Health Effects of Air Pollution Testimony, Correspondence and Photograph, 1969-1992

Correspondence and Press Releases about the Allegheny County Air Quality Control Program, 1996

33

Folder

Testimony about Air Pollution Control Regulations, undated

34

Subseries 6. Other, 1970-1996

Scope and Content Notes

The Other subseries includes court cases and environmental legislation materials that do not fit into the other subseries within the Legal series. Included is information about noise control, water policy, various Pennsylvania legislature environmental bills and court cases against specific companies. This subseries (1970-1996) includes correspondence, testimonies, mailing lists, proposals and reports.

Series IV. Outreach, 1968-1993

Scope and Content Notes

The Outreach series includes materials that document the outreach efforts of GASP. Included are materials from environmental task forces, workshops, grants, publications and projects. Correspondence, reports, news releases, financial records, membership lists and photographs comprise this series. It is arranged chronologically from 1968 to 1993.

Series V. Subject Files, 1970-1996

Scope and Content Notes

The Subject Files series includes information that is of such a wide variety of environmental causes they could not be easily arranged into the other series in the collection. Subjects include energy, water, air pollution, transportation, acid rain and hazardous waste materials. Newspaper clippings, conference records, photographs, policies, correspondence, meeting transcripts, testimonies and news releases comprise this series. It is arranged chronologically between 1970 and 1996.

Series VI. Related Companies 1971-1976

Scope and Content Notes

The Related Companies series contains correspondence, legal materials, and other documents relating to Air Pollution Variance Petition Files between 1971-1976. The folders are organized alphabetically according to the organization responsible for filing the petition. In addition to the written documents, the series contains diagrams, schematic plans and study data for various industrial operations. These were run by various companies, including: Pittsburgh Plate Glass, US Steel, Edgar Thomson, Jones Laughlin, and the Allegheny Power Service Corporation. The flat file contains three copies of the "Dirty Gertie Award", two blank, and one given to US Steel for its "contribution to air pollution in Allegheny County".